Page 30 of The Duke's Indecent Match
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Kalina
Venturing forth with her mother, Kalina quickly found that she was not the only lady who had noted the matchmaker’s arrival.All the young ladies and several of the older ones had left their rooms and come to the parlor.The tea cart had been brought out and set in the center of the room, with all the necessities as well as some biscuits.Lady Blackstone was there, seated on a couch and happily chatting with Lady Emeryn and the Duchess of Clarence, leaving her daughter to escort their newest visitors around the room and introduce them.
Currently, they were speaking with Lady Kari and Lady Nichole, who were very animated, apparently thrilled to meet the matchmaker.Lady Astrid turned as Kalina and her mother walked into the room and smiled brightly at them.
Though Lady Hu appeared to be deep in conversation with Lady Nichole, Lady Astrid took Mei by her arm and turned her toward Kalina.Smiling serenely, Mei moved with Lady Astrid to greet Kalina and her mother.Up close, she was stunningly beautiful, with black hair as dark as Kalina’s and rich brown eyes that were filled with warmth.
“Kalina, Mrs.Little, this is my friend Mei, the matchmaker.Mei, this is Mrs.and Miss Little.”
Mei shot Lady Astrid an amused glance.
“My grandmother is the matchmaker,” she said, curtsying deeper than she should have for Kalina and her mother’s stations.Her English was completely unaccented, her voice soft in both tone and quality and very fluid.It almost sounded like an affect, rather than her true tone.Lady Astrid gave Mei a sharp look, but the other woman smiled serenely.“I am merely her apprentice, though I do pass on my observations and thoughts to my grandmother.”
“And has your grandmother ever disagreed with any of your observations or thoughts?”
“No.”Mirth danced in Mei’s eyes.Her voice had changed as well, no longer quite so soft.From the back and forth, Kalina was left with the distinct impression that Mei’s opinions counted very much, and Lady Astrid knew it, but that Mei preferred her grandmother to receive the credit.She thought that was probably wise, as she was unsure how thetonwould react to matches being made by such a young lady.Especially one as beautiful as Mei.
“How do you decide on who to match?”Kalina asked, hoping to stem the back and forth between Lady Astrid and Mei and also because she was truly interested in the process.
“Well, first we must meet both parties, of course.We gather our first impressions, then we take a closer look.I do a good deal of research for my grandmother on both the subject and their families.After that…” She spread her hands wide.“Some of it is intuition.Some of it is experience.My grandmother just knows.”
“And so does Mei,” Lady Astrid murmured.
Mei shot her another amused look, raising her eyebrow, and Lady Astrid shrugged unrepentantly.It was clear that the two of them were very comfortable with each other, speaking to a longstanding friendship.
That made Kalina even more curious.
How did a lady of theton, who had been betrothed since birth, meet a Chinese matchmaker?
“It is lovely to meet you, Mei.We appreciate you and your grandmother making the journey,” Kalina’s mother said, smiling warmly.“I would certainly appreciate hearing any observations or thoughts you have on the gathered gentlemen.”
As four out of six of the attending dukes were unwed and currently in need of brides, that was really who Mei and Lady Hu would be observing.
“I look forward to meeting them,” Mei replied smoothly.“Right now, I would love to sit and get to know you and Kalina, if that suits you.”
Kalina and her mother exchanged a glance.
“I think that suits us very well,” Kalina said.Some might think that Lady Hu was the one to meet, but she trusted Lady Astrid.If she wanted Kalina to speak with Mei rather than Lady Hu, there was a reason.
Nathanial
A knock at the door of the billiards room made both Nathanial and Christian turn to see who was there.Matthew hung in the doorway, grinning widely, Sebastian just behind him with a resigned expression.
“The matchmaker is here.The ladies are gathered for tea with her in the parlor.Do you want to come meet her with us?”Matthew’s interest and excitement were clear, though perhaps that was no surprise.A man who let his life be decided by a coin flip was hardly going to balk at the idea of someone directing him on a certain path.
Sebastian accompanying Matthew was more surprising.He was skeptical but still willing to see what the fuss was about.
As Nathanial had already agreed to speak with her, he was also interested in meeting her as swiftly as possible.He wanted to see if he could get a sense of her and how she made her choices, whether he might be able to trust her suggestions.While he was not so cavalier as to leave his marriage to the hands of fate, or a coin flip, an experienced matchmaker was a bird of a different color.
“I would like to,” he said, setting down his billiards stick.
For a moment, Christian hesitated, then he shrugged.“I will come as well.It seems a bit of a lark, does it not?”
“No Gregory or Drake?”Nathanial asked as he stepped out into the hall with Matthew and Sebastian, Christian only a few paces behind him.
“Drake seems to have disappeared again, and Gregory is…napping.”Matthew chuckled as he put extra emphasis on the word, making Sebastian scowl furiously.It must be very awkward to have your sister marry your closest friend.Nathanial made a mental note to keep Juliette away from his friends until she was safely affianced to someone else.He certainly did not want to think about her…napping… with any of his friends.
